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THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY 

OE ALASKA 
Report from th.e Coroinittee on 
Expenditures, Dept, uf Com- 
merce and Labor. 




House Calendar No. 377. 

62d Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
3d Session. \ \ No. 1425. 



THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 



January 31. 1913. — Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. 



Mr. RoTHERMEL, from the ^dommittee on Expenditures in the 
Department of Commerce and Labor, submitted the following 

REPORT. 

Mr. McGuu-e submitted minority views. 

The Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce 
and Labor, proceeding under its general powers to inquire into the 
leasmg of sealing privileges on the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, the 
conduct of the lessees on the said seal islands, the management by the 
oHicials of the Government in charge of the fur-seal herd after the 
exphation of the said leases, and to inquire mto the advisability of 
the leasing by the Government of any privileges pertaining to said 
islands, beg leave to report as follows: 

Specific charges having been filed with the committee May 15, 1911, 
alleging that the agents of the Government had conspired with the 
lessees of the seal islands to take seals in violation of law and the 
provisions of their contract, and also that the said lessee company 
had secured the lease from the Government by fraud and perjury, 
the committee determined to investigate these questions and report 
its findings of fact to the House. Extended hearings were had, 
])eginning May 31, 1911, and ended July 25, 1912. The testimony 
has been printed for the committee and covers a series of 31 sessions 
and contains 1,013 pages. 

The committee, after due and careful d liberation, finds the follow- 
ing facts: 

I. That when the United States took possession of the fur-seal herd, 
in 1867-68, by virtue of the treaty of cession from Russia, and leased it 
to the Alaska Commercial Co., a corporation, for 20 years from May 
1 , 1870. the herd consisted of about 4,700,000 seals. (See pp. 184-193, 
Hearing No. 4.) During the period of this lease, 1870-1890, the lessees 
tfK)k 1,856,224 seals, deriving therefrom a net profit of $18,753,911.20, 
while the net profit of "the Government therefrom was but 
85,264,230.08. (See pp. 964, 965, Hearing No. 14.) 

II. That on March 12, 1890, a second lease was entered into with 
another cor]M)ration, known as the North American Commercial Co., 
of San Francisco, for a period of 20 years. That when this lease was 



^— Hl3 



2 THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA, A ^ c^- a^^ 

<o -^^^^ 

executed, a survey of the herd made in July of that year disclosed the 
fact that there were but 959,393 seals on the islands. That this 
reduction of the herd was due to the combined effect of killing 
]()(),()()() seals annually on land, since 1870, and the energetic prose- 
cution of pelagic sealing, iirst begun in 18S3-S4 and actively prose- 
cuted since 188S. (See p}). 56-60, Hearing No. 2.) 

That the herd had been depleted to such an extent in 1884 that 
the Alaska Commercial Co. had didiculty in securing their average 
annual (juota. In spite of this fact, however, the said company- 
continued to take an annual average of about 100,000 seals, until 
Lheir lease exj)ired in 1890. On the expiration of this lease the herd 
had been depleted to such an extent that the new lessee, the North- 
American Commercial Co., had great difliculty in obtaining their 
quota and commenced to kill female seals and yearlings (see pp. 3<^- 
43, Hearing No. 2), which is now and was then prohil)ited t\y law 
and by the regulations of the de]iartment. 1 his unlawful killing of 
seals was reported July 31, 1890, to the vSecretary of the Treasury, 
Hon. Charles Foster, who took no e?teps officially to prevent a recur- 
rence of such loss to the Government, but, on the contrary, imme- 
diately removed the agent who reported it and assigned him to 
another position in the service. (See pp. 54-55, 64-67, Hearing 
No. 2; pp. 207-209, Hearing No. 4; pp. 662-672, Hearing No. 10; 
pp. 939-944, Hearing No. 14.) 

That the conduct of the lessees, the North American Commercial 
Co., through its officers and agents, coupled with the work of and the 
interest they had in pelagic hunting, so reduced the seal herd of 
about a million seals that in August, 1910, the number of seals on the 
islands did not exceed 133,000. (See p. 935, Hearmg No. 14.) 
That the lessees had killed in 20 years 343,356 seals, from which they 
derived a net profit of approximately $4,976,574, and by reason of 
which the Government after paying the expenses incident to the man- 
agement of the fur-seal herd during said period derived no profit, 
but, on the contrary, suft'ered a loss of more than $1 ,350,000. That the 
record of 40 years of leasing of the seal islands of Alaska (1870-1910) 
discloses the fact that the Government has suffered a property loss 
of not less than $30,000,000, caused by the almost complete commer- 
cial ruin of the said seal herd, while the net revenue received by the 
Government, under both leases, amounted to but $3,914,000, approxi- . 
mately. 

HI. Your committee finds that the second lease which the Govern- 
ment entered into, namely, with the North American Commercial i 
Co., was obtained by fraud, said fraud, in part, having consisted in | 
the filing of a false affidavit on the j)art of Isaac Liebes, president of 
said company. (See pp. 833, 835, 836, 837, 839, 840, 844, 846, 847, 
848, 852-854, 855, 856, 857, 858, 859, 860, 861, 862, 864, 886-888, 
889-890, Hearing No. 13.) 

The pages of testimony referred to disclose the fact that the said 
Liebes, as president of said company, did, on March 12, 1890, declare 
under oath in the form of a written affidavit, which was placed on 
file in the Treasury Department with the papers in the case, to the 
effect that neitlier he nor any of his associate lessees were engaged in 
the business of pelagic sealing, or in any \nolation of law. When in 
truth and in fact he, the said Isaac Liebes, was, at the very time of 
the filing of said affidavit, in full knowledge of the fact that his asso- 

0. OF 0. 
FEB IS 19^8 



v' THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 6 

^ ciate lessee, Herman Liebes, was the owner of the schooner James 

- Hamilton Lewis, and that she had been outfitted by him, illegally 

"> cleared January 10, 1890, for hunting fur seals at sea and for the very 

<> purpose of committing depredations on the high seas and in American 

waters and on the seal islands of Alaska during the summer of 1890. 

That on September 17, 1890, he, the said Isaac Liebes, president, as 

aforesaid, became part owner of said vessel James Hamilton Lewis. 

That the said Herman and Isaac Liebes, officers and stockholders of 

the said North American Commercial Co., and as owners of the said 

James Hamilton Lewis, corresponded, combined, confederated with 

one Alexander McLean, known as a notorious British pirate, for the 

purpose of committing, and in fact did commit, depredations on the 

nigh seas, in American waters, and on the Pribilof Islands by way of 

unlawfully kilhng fiU' seals belonging to the Government of the 

United States. 

Your committee is of the opinion that the conduct of the officers 
of the North American Commercial Co. during 1890, 1891, and sub- 
sequent thereto, was such that the officials of the Government 
should have promptly revoked the lease and prevented this great 
loss of property. In this connection it may be stated that the 
following is a clause which appears in the lease: 

The Secretary of the Treasury reserves the right to terminate this lease and all 
rights of the North American Commercial Co. under the same at any time on full 
and satisfactory proof that the said company has violated any of the provisions and 
agreements of this lease, or any of the laws of the United States, or any Treasury 
regulation respecting the taking of fur seals, or concerning the islands of St. George 
and St. Paul or the inhabitants thereof. 

That the said North American Commercial Co. gave a bond, dated 
March 12, 1890, in the sum of $500,000, conditioned for the faithful 
observance of all laws and regulations of the Treasury Department, 
said bond being signed by I. Liebes, president; H. B. Parsons, assistant 
secretary; and Darius O. Mills, Lloyd Tevis, Herman Liebes, by 
D O. Mills, attorney in fact, and Stephen B. Elkins, as sureties, 
and approved by William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury, and 
which said bond is on file in the department as part of the record in 
the case. 

IV. Your committee further finds that Isaac Liebes, president of 
said North American Commercial Co., did correspond, combine, and 
agree with one H. H. D. Peirce, then Third Assistant Secretary of State 
of the LTnited States, and Charles H. Townsend, "seal expert" of the 
United States Bureau of Fisheries, in preparing, promoting, and col- 
lecting a fraudulent claim in the case of the James Hamilton Lewis 
(the sealing vessel owned and outfitted by said Isaac Liebes and 
Herman Liebes) and Capt. Alexander McLean, the aforesaid British 
pirate. The said H. H. D. Peirce and Charles H. Townsend, as repre- 
sentatives of the Government, presented the claims of the said Alex- 
ander McLean, who was rhaster of the James Hamilton Lewis, a sealing 
vessel owned by said Isaac and Herman Liebes, and which said vessel 
was fraudulently registered at San Francisco on the 10th of Januarv, 
1890. 

In 1891 the said schooner, the James Hamilton Leivis, commanded 
by said Alexander McLean, was caught by a Russian vessel and under 
the claim that the crew headed by the said McLean had raided the 
seal islands belongmg to Russia. Disputes arose as to the question 



4 THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTEY OF ALASKA. 

of whetiier the Russian Government had a right to seize the schooner 
James Hamilton Lewis and its crew. Damages were claimed by the 
owners of the vessel as well as the master and crew thereof. 

In 1893 proceedings were commenced in the State Department, 
claiming damages on the part of owners, master, and crew of the 
James IlamiUon Lewis. H. PI. D. Peirce and Charles H. Townsend, 
"sealing experts," of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, pre- 
pared the cases for the parties interested and presented the claim 
on the part of the United States against the Russian Government 
at The Hague in 1902, which resulted in an award of approxi- 
mately $50,000 in favor of the United States Government for the 
use of the parties interested, including Alexander McLean and 
Max Weisman, November 29, 1902. The said H. H. D. Peirce and 
Charles H. Townsend presented the claim of Max Weisman as the 
owner of the vessel James Hamilton Lewis before the tribunal at 
The Hague, when in truth and in fact the owner of said schooner 
at the time of its seizure was Herman Liebes, of San Francisco. 
The said PI. H. D. Peirce and Charles H. Townsend represented to 
the tribimal in the trial of said case that Alexander McLean, the 
captain of said vessel, was an American citizen, when in truth and 
fact he was a British subject and notoriously known as a pirate. 
(See jvp. 754, 755, Plearing No. 12.) 

V. Your committee further finds that, in spite of the ruinous 
record made during the last 20 years by the North American Com- 
mercial Co., under the supervision of the Treasury agents of the seal 
islands of Alaska, H. H. Taylor, president of the said company; C. H. 
Townsend; and George M. Bowers, Commissioner of the Bureau of 
Fisheries, did recommend to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 
Hon. Charles Nagel, to enter into another lease of the said islands 
for 20 years. The testimony discloses that the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor had intended to enter into another contract to 
re-lease the islands to the highest and best bidder. Strenuous objec- 
tions to any leasing of the islands, however, were made by public- 
spirited citizens, and this prevented the renewal of the lease. 

VI. That since the lessees were prevented from further killing 
by the expiration of their lease and by the passage of the act of Con- 
gress approved April 21, 1910, which act prohibited the re-leasing 
of the islands for the purpose of killing seals, the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor was placed in full control of affairs on the said 
islands. That although the Government appears to have been 
greatly benefited by Federal management, as demonstrated by the 
testimony of Walter I. Lembky, special agent of the Government on 
the seal islands (see p. 366, Hearing No. 9); also Secretary Nagel's 
report for 1912 (see p. 106), nevertheless, and in spite of the express 
prohibition of the law, it is disclosed by the testimony that yearling 
and female seals have been killed by the agents of the Government 
in charge of the seal islands. (See pp. 5 23, Hearing No. 1 ; pp. 
897-920, Hearing No. 14.) 

VII. That the testimony taken by the committee was the basis 
in large measure of the action by Congress, August 15, 1912, which 
establishes a closed term of five years from said date to aU commercial 
killing: of fur seals on the seal islands of Alaska. 



THE FUK-SEAL INDUSTKY OF ALASKA. 5 

The committee therefore recommends: 

(1) That the Attorney General be requested to take such steps as 
may be necessary to collect the bond of $500,000 from the said i\orth 
American Commercial Co. and the sureties thereon. 

(2) That the Attorney General be requested to institute civil pro- 
ceedings against Isaac Liebes personally to recover such damages 
as he and his confederates did to the seal herd of Alaska from 1890 
to 1910. 

(3) That the State Department take up with Russia the matter 
of the case of the James Hamilton Lewis for the purpose of rectifying 
the wrong done by said Liebes, C. H. Townsend, and H. H. D. Peirce 
against the Government of Russia, a friendly power. 

(4) That with a view to carrying this recommendation into effect 
the clerk of the House be directed to forward to the Secretary of 
State a certified copy of this report, together with a complete set of 
the official hearings before this committee on this subject. 

(5) That in view of the closed season of five years provided by act 
of Congress, of August 15, 1912, the services of the Treasury agents 
on the said Pribilof Islands can be dispensed with, resulting thereby 
in a saving to the Federal Government of approximately $25,000 
annually. 

John H, Rothermel. 
Jas. T. McDermott. 
James Young. 

D. J. McGlLLICUDDY. 



VIEWS OF THE MINORITY. 



Mr. McGuire submitted the following views of the minority: 

House resolution 73, as adopted by the House of Representa- 
tives May 12, 1911, is as follows: 

Resolved, That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor be, and he is hereby, directed 
to furnish for the us3 and the information of the Hous? of Representatives copies of all 
letters received, reports, and documents from his agents in charge of the seal islands 
of Alaska, together with copies of all instructions given to those officials aforesaid 
since January first, nineteen hundred and four, up to date, which relate to the condi- 
tion and management of the fur-s3al herd, the conduct of the officers of the Govern- 
ment in charge of it, and the conduct of the work of the lessees on the seal islands 
aforesaid, since January first, nineteen hundred and four, up to date. 

The chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor has filed a report in which there is 
recited what purports to be a history of the fur-seal herd from the 
year 1867 down to the present time. Beginning with the year 1870 
it deals largely with the conduct of the Alaska Commercial Co. and 
the North American Commercial Co. under their leases for periods 
of 20 years each running from the 1st of May, 1870, to April 30, 
1890, and from May 1, 1890, to April 30, 1910,"res])ectively. 

The said report also devotes considerable space to the actions of 
one Liebes, who was in the year 1890 president of the North American 
Commercial Co., and of one Alexander McLean, said to have been a 
notorious British pirate, and with certain alleged malfeasance in office 
of one H. H. D. Peirce, formerly an Assistant Secretary of State, and 
one Charles H. Townsend, in thit they presented a certain fraudulent 
claim on the part of the United States against the Russian Govern- 
ment at The Hague in the matter of the sealing vessel, the James 
Hamilton Lewis. 

All of these, with the exception of the last few years, are matters 
that occurred before the creation or organization of the Department 
of Commerce and Labor, July 1, 1903, and the undersigned members 
of the committee believe that they are justified in assuming that it 
is not within the province of the Committee on Expenditures in the 
Department of Commerce and Labor to investigate the action of 
certain aliens and officials formerly connected with other departments 
with regard to matters over wh'ch the Department of Commerce and 
Labor has never had jurisdiction. 

We believe that our position in the matter is fully supported by the 
wording of the resolution of Congress above referred to, adopted on 
May 12, 1911, with reference to all letters, reports, and documents 
regarding the fur-sen 1 herd from January 1, 1904, up to date. 

The undersigned do not wish to be understood as objecting to the 
consideration of the matters above referred to or to referring them to 
the Department of Justice and the Department of State, but it seems 
clear that they should in nowise form a part of the report based upon 
the House resolution already quoted under which the hearings were 
held and the evidence taken. 

Although the committee took more than 1,000 pages of testimony, 
and the last hearing was six months ago, on July 31, 1912, the com- 

7 



8 THE FUK-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 

mittee has never held a single meeting for the purpose of considering 
the evidence, and the report made by the chairman was never sub- 
mitted to the committee for its consideration, no meeting of the com- 
mittee was ever held for that purpose, and we are not satisfied that 
it has been approved by a majority of the committee. Carbon copies 
of the report were given to the undersigned members of the committee 
after the chairman had filed the original. 

There are three matters which directly concern the Department of 
Commerce and Labor that are discussed in the report heretofore filed, 
all of which appear in the latter part of that report. It is stated that 
H. H. Taylor, president of , the North American Commercial Co., C. H. 
Townsend, and George M. Bowers, Commissioner of the Bureau of 
Fisheries, did recommend to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor a 
re-lease of the said islands for another period of 20 years, and that 
the Secretary did intend to re-lease the islands and that public-spirited 
citizens prevented such arrangement. 

The committee is probably not particularly interested in whether 
Mr. H. H. Taylor recommended a renewal of the lease. Mr. Tay- 
lor was a private citizen and it was his privilege to recommend 
anything he thought proper. 

Wliether C. H. Townsend (a member of the advisory board, fur 
seal service), George M. Bowers (Commissioner of Fisheries), or 
Secretary Nagel recommended giving a new lease, can be easily 
determined by an examination of the record. 

In the first place, it must be remembered that up to April 21, 
1910, the law made it mandatory upon the Secretary of Commerce 
and Labor to re-lease the islands uj)on the expiration of the old le:!se. 
(See sees. 4 and 5 of the act of July 1, 1870, Hearing No. 10, p. 462.) 
As the lease then existing would expire April 30, 1910, it was nec- 
essary for the Secretary to begin in due time consideration of what 
should or must be done in the event that the law was not repealed. 
It would have been poor administration to delay consideration of 
the cjuestion until the expiration of the old lease. 

On February 13, 1909, David Starr Jordan, in a letter to Oscar S. 
Straus, then Secretary of Commerce and Labor, accepting the chair- 
manship of the advisory board, fur-seal service, said: 

I may repent here niy hope that the Depr.rtmeut of Str.te will proceed i.s rapidly as 
possible towird the r.bolition of pelr.gic se&ling, r,nd my hope rJso that the Govern- 
ment will not under any circmnstrjices ler se the products of the islands, at le; st in 
such form r.s has l)een in vogue for the pr st 40 yei.rs. I think that the Government 
should, under the direction of its own naturalists, take the skins that can be spared 
and sell these to the highest bidder. (See p. 813, Appendix A, Herxings before the 
Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce and Labor.) 

On November 23, 1909, the advisory board, fur-seal service, had 
a meeting in Washington, at which were present Drs. Jordan, Stejne- 
ger, Lucas, and Townsend, and Hon. Fdwin W. Sims, vi the advisc^ry 
board; George M. Bowers, Bartcn WarnMi Evermann, Hugh M. Smith, 
Walter I. Leinbkey, H. D. Chichester, and IVIillard C. March, of the 
Bureau of Fisheries; and George A. Clark, s])ecial scientific expert. 
After protracted conferences six recommendations regarding the 
management of fiu'-seal matters were agreed upon. No. 3 of the 
recommendations is as follows : 

It is recommended that there be adopted a system, of regulations similar to those in 
force on the Commander Islands, the Government to assume entire control in all 
essential matters ])ortaining lo iho fur seals, l)Ir,e foxes, natives, and the islands in 



THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 9 

general, aud the lessee to be restricted to the receiving, curing, and shipping of the 
skins taken. (See p. 814, Appendix A, hearings before the Committee on Expendi- 
tm-es in the Department of Commerce and Labor.) 

It should be noted that George M. Bowers and C. H. Townsend were 
both present, participated in the discussions, and united with the 
other gentlemen present in this recommendation. 

On November 24, 1909, George M. Bowers, Commissioner ol" 
Fisheries, transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor the 
recommendations of the advisory board, in all of which he concurred. 

On December 7, 1909, two weeks after the recommendation of the 
advisory board had gone to the Secretary, which, if acted upon, would 
eliminate the lessee about as completely as was possible under the 
existing law. Senator Dixon introduced three resolutions (Nos. 90, 91, 
and 92), the first of which recommended a revision of the Paris 
tribunal regulations, suggested that the then existing lease should not 
be renewed and that no commercial killing should be done for 10 
years, the other two calling upon the Secretary of State and the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor for certain documents. 

On December 15, 1909, the assistant in charge, scientific inquiry, 
transmitted to the Commissioner of Fisheries a tentative draft of a 
lease drawn in conformity with the terms recommended by the advis- 
ory board. Accompanying the dra't was a memorandum showing 
wherein it differed from the then existing lease. The draft and memo- 
randum were transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
on the same date. (Anpendix A, p. 737.) 

On March 15, 1910, the President sent a special message to Congress 
recommending the repeal of the law of July 1, 1870, which made it 
mandatory upon the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to lease the 
seal islands. (P. 253, Hearing No. 6.) _ 

On March 17, 1910, Senator Dixon introduced S. 7242, providing 
for the repeal of the law of July 1, 1870. The bill (S. 7242) which 
Senator Dixon introduced was drawn in the Department of Commerce 
and Labor by the Solicitor, upon the direction of the Secretary 
(p. 480, Hearing No. 10), and became a law April 21, 1910. The 
Secretary appeared before the House and Senate committees and 
advocated its passage. From this it is clear that the department 
was not in favor of leasing the islands again, and would have done 
so only if obliged to by the laws that were in force up to April 21, 1910. 

In support of the statement that the testimony discloses that since 
April, 1910, or the date of the department's control, ''yearlmg and 
female seals have been killed by the agents of the Government" 
reference is made to pages 5-23 of Hearing No. 1. An examination 
of those pages shows that the "testimony" referred to is merely the 
assertion of Mr. Elliott which has not a particle of evidence support- 
ing it. 

The testimony of Agent Lembkey and the other seal agents, the 
special investigators, C. M. Lampson & Co., and all others who have 
been on the seal islands or who have seen the skins taken, is to the 
effect that females have never besn killed and that no yearlings have 
been killed except a negligible few by accident or error in judgment, 
Tlie regulations then in foice required the Idlling to be restricted to 
surplus males with skins weighing not under 5 pounds nor over 8^ 
pounds. (P. 485, Hearing No. 10.) The record of the weights taken 
on the islands shows that of the 12,920 skins taken in 1910, onl}^ 90 



10 THE FUE-SEAL INDUSTKY OP ALASKA. 

fell below the minimum weight. (P. 130, Hearing No. 3.) TJiese 
were green weights. The London salt weights of the same skins 
sliowecl 92 belo-w the minimum weight, tlie agreement being almost 
perfect. 

In order to bolster up the claim that tJie island weights had been 
reported heavier than they really were it was necessary for Mr. 
Elliott to claim tliat salting increases the weight of the skin. (P. 133, 
Healing No. 3.) 

But very careful experiments show conclusively tliat salting has 
exactly the opposite ?ffect. (Pp. 564 and 974-977 of hearings.) 
According to Mr. Elliott's own tables a 5-pound skin is the skin of 
a 2-year-old seal. (See Elhott's monogi-aph, pp. 46 and 168.) 

14.8 to Ihe killing of females in 1910 or 1911, there is not a particle 
of evidence indicating that any were killed. 

Assuming that by the term Treasury agents are intended the 
agents of the Bureau of Fisheries, it may be stated that the services 
of said agents can not be dispensed with whether or not commercial 
killing goes on. They are necessary to conduct food killings and 
prepare the seal skins for market and to conduct the fox business and 
prepare those skins for market. The agents represent all govern- 
ment on the islands and exercise a sort of quasi judicial authori.ty. 
To them the natives appeal for justice and redress of grievances among 
themselves. The agents are the onlv persons on the islands who are 
under bond and financially responsible for the payment of moneys 
to the natives or the issuing of supplies to them. 

On page 7 of the report it is stated that the North American Com- 
mercial Co. combined and agreed with H. H. D. Peirce and Charles H. 
Townsend in preparing and promoting and collecting fraudulent 
claims in the case of the James Hamilton Lewis. 

On page 8 it is stated that Peirce and Townsend prepared the case 
for the parties interested and presented their claim on the part of 
the United States against the Russian Government at The Hague. 

These statements are not in accordance with the facts. C. H. 
Townsend went to The Hague simply as a witness to testify regarding 
pelagic sealing matters. Townsend had nothing to do with the 
representing of claimants. He had nothing to do with preparing cases. 
He was nothing more than a witness before The Hague tribunal. 

As it has become necessary to file a separate report, the under- 
signed members of the committee believe it is proper and advisable 
to take up the .matter of the charges and the answers thereto and to 
incorporate in this report a full statement as to matters presented to 
the committee. 

Bird McGuire. 
Martin B. Madden. 
CiiAS. E. Patton. 



The Connnittee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce 
and Labor, to which was referred House resolution No. 73, introduced 
by the Hon. Edward W. Townsend, of New Jersey, and adopted May 
12, 1911, directing the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to furnish 
for the use of the House of Representatives certain correspondence 
and documents relating to the condition and management of the fur- 
seal herd, has the honor to make the following report: 



THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 11 

STATEMENT OF THE MINORITY AS TO MATTERS PRESENTED TO THE 

^ COMMITTEE. 

House Resolution No. 73, as adopted by the House of Representa- 
tives May 12, 1911, is as follows: 

Resolved, That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor be, and he is hereby, directed 
to furnish for the use and the information of the House of Representatives copies of all 
letters received, reports, and documents from his agents in charge of the seal islands of 
Alaska, together with copies of all instructions given to those officials aforesiad since 
January first, nineteen hundred and four, up to date, which relate to the condition and 
management of the fur-seal herd, the conduct of the officers of the Government in 
charge of it, and the conduct of the work of the lessees on the seal islands aforesaid, 
since January first, nineteen hundred and four, up to date. 

Complying with the terms of the resolution, the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor, on June 24, 1911, transmitted to the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives copies of all the letters, instructions, 
reports, and documents in the files of the department and responsive 
to the resolution. 

These letters, instructions, reports, and documents, having been 
referred on July 19, 1911, to the Committee on Expenditures in the 
Department of Commerce and Labor, Were printed as Houfe Docu- 
ment No. 93, Sixty-second Congress, first session, with the title: 
''Seal Islands of Alaska: Letter from the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor transmitting, in response to House resolution 73, mforma- 
tion relating to the Seal Islands of Alaska." The title of this docu- 
ment was subsequently changed to "Appendix A to hearings before 
the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Commerce and 
Labor, House of Reprerentatives, on House resolution 73, to 
investigate the fur-seal mduftry of Alaska." 

This document consists of 1,232 clotely printed pages. 

The committee began its hearings May 31, 1911, and concluded 
them July 31, 1912. More than 35 sittings -were had and about 20 
witnesses were heard. 

The fullest latitude was allowed each witness in the presentation 
of his data and the expression of his views. 

The testimony taken at all the hearings up to and including that 
of July 31, 1912, has been printed in 14 separate pamphlets totaling 
1,013 pages. 

The chairman of the committee received a letter dated May 15, 
191], signed by Henry W. Elliott, in which certain general charges 
were made regarding the management of the fur-seal service by the 
Department of Commerce and Labor. 

This letter may be found on pages 22 to 33 of the printed report ol 
the hearings before the Committee on Conservation of National 
Resources, United States Senate, on the bill (S. 9959) to amend an act 
entitled "An act to protect the seal fisheries of Alaska, and for other 
purposes," approved April 21, 1910, which hearings were held Febru- 
ary 4, 19]]. 

The general charges as set forth in that letter are as follows: 

Charge I. I charge that the conduct of the officialism of the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor having the specific control of all details of administration of the 
public business on the seal islands of Alaska since January 1, 1905, has been guilty of 
violating the law and regulations which it is and was the sworn duty of that officialism 
aforesaid to properly and strictly obey. 

Charge II. I charge that this malfeasance of that officialism above cited has caused 
an immense loss of public property on the seal islands of Alaska, and that unless your 
honorable committee take prompt action to check and abolish it this same officialism 



12 THE PUE-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 

will in a short period of continuance of its methods be able to and will succeed in com- 
pletely destroying the commercial value forever of the fur-seal herd of Alaska. 

These charges are general and vague in^character. During the 
progress of the hearings, however, they were put in somewhat more 
specific form, or more specific cliarges were made, the most important 
of which may be stated as follows: 

1. That large numbers of yearling male fur seals have been killed 
on the islands contrar}^ to law and the regulations. 

2. That large numbers of female fur seals have been killed on the 
islands in violation of law. 

3. That the killing of male seals on the islands has been so close 
that a sufficient number of males for breeding purposes has not been 
reserved. 

4. That the males have been killed off so closely that there has not 
been that struggle for supremacy which is necessary to weed out the 
weak and develop an adequate supply of strong, virile bulls for 
breeding purposes, and, as a consequence, the Alaska fur seals are 
inferior to their ancestors of a few generations ago. 

5. That the great decrease in the size of the fur-seal herd since 1890 
has been caused by land killiug, as practiced by the North American 
Commercial Co. and under Government supervision. 

A great many minor charges were made which, on account of their 
irrelevancy or lack of definiteness, have not been considered by the 
committee in this report. 

Before entering upon a consideration of the evidence taken by the 
committee bearing upon these charges a brief general statement of the 
more important facts in the life liistory and the political history of the 
fur seal may be given. 

There are in tlie North Pacific Ocean three closely related species 
of fur seals. One of these, known as Callorhinus kurilensis, has its 
breeding grounds chiefly on Robben Island, in the Sea of Oldiotsk, 
a short distance south of Cape Patience, Sakhalin Island. This con- 
stitutes the Japanese fur-seal herd, which is the smallest of these 
herds. In 1911 it was said that this herd contained only 6,557 seals. 
The second species is the Russian fur seal, CallorJiinus iirsinus, whose 
breeding grounds are on Bering and Copper Islands of the Commander 
Islands, in Bering Sea, about 150 miles east of Kamchatka, or nearly 
1,000 miles west from the Pribilof Islands. This species constitutes 
the Russian fur-seal herd, which in 1911 contained between 18,000 
and 30,000 seals. The third species is the Alaska fur seal, CallorJiinus 
alascensis, whose breeding grounds are on St. Paul and St. George, 
the two principal islands of the Pribilof group, situated in Bering Sea, 
in longitude 170° west, latitude 57° north, and about 200 miles from 
the nearest land. This species constitutes the Alaska fur-seal herd, 
which is much the largest and most important of the three North 
Pacific herds. The census for 1912 gives 215,638 seals as present in 
the herd in the past season. 

With the transfer of iilaska by Russia to the United States, October 
18, 1867, this country came into possession of the Pribilof Islands 
and the fur-seal herd inhabiting them. 

The first law passed by the United States for the protection of the 
fur seal was approved July 1, 1870. It was entitled ''An act to pre- 
vent the extermination of fur-bearing animals in Alaska," and pro- 
vided that the Secretary of the Treasury shall lease for a period of 20 
years from the 1st day of May, 1870, the right to engage in the busi- 
ness of taking fur seals on the islands of St. Paul and St. George, 



THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 13 

under certain specified conditions. In accordance with the require- 
ments of this law, the Secretary of the Treasurer, on September 3, 
1870, leased the islands to the Alaska Commercial Co. That com- 
pany carried on the sealing industry under the terms of this lease 
during the full period of 20 years. On Larch 12, 1890, the lease of 
the Alaska Commercial Co., being about to expire, the Secretary of 
the Treasury leased the islands to another company known as the 
North American Commercial Co., for a period of 20 years from the 
1st day of May, 1890. This company carried on the sealing industry 
under the terms of its lease for the full period of 20 years. 

Upon the formation of the Department of Commerce and Labor 
the fur-seal service and all matters relating thereto were, on July 1, 
1903, transferred from the Treasury Department to that department 
where they were administered directly by the chief clerk, the Solicitor, 
or the Assistant Secretary until December 28, 1908, when, by order 
of the Secretary, the fur-seal service was transferred to the Bureau 
of Fisheries, where it has since remained. 

It thus appears that the Department of Commerce and Labor has 
had charge of fur-seal matters since July 1, 1903, and that the Bureau 
of Fisheries of that department has been in immediate charge since 
December 28, 1908. Understanding that the lease of the North 
American Commercial Co. would terminate May 1, 1910, and reahz- 
ing that under existing law the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
would have to release the islands, the Congress on April 21, 1910, 
passed a law which provided that no new lease shall be given, but that 
the Government shall take entire charge of all matters on the seal 
islands. In conformity with the requirements of that law, the tak- 
ing and marketing of the sealskins has been done by the representa- 
tives of the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

So long as killing of seals was confined to the land it was easy to 
regulate the killing in such a manner as to permit an annual take of 
60,000 to 100,000 skins and at the same time maintain the herd at a 
high degree of productivity. This was done by saving all the females 
and an ample supply of the best males for breeding purposes and 
killing the surplus 2-year-old and 3-year-old males. But in the last 
years of the lease of the Alaska Commercial Co. certain persons, 
chiefly Canadians of Victoria, British Columbia, discovered that the 
hunting of seals in the open ocean could be carried on with profit. 
It was found that by falling in with the herd in the late winter and 
spring months oft' the coast of Washington, British Columbia, and 
southeast Alaska during the spring migration back to the Pribilof 
Islands, and again in Bering Sea in summer and fall, when the mother 
seals visit their feeding grounds, large numbers of seals could be killed 
and the business of pelagic sealing, as it was called, made very 
profitable. 

Following this discovery, the development of pelagic sealing was 
very rapid and the herd diminished correspondingly. Various inter- 
national complications followed, which finally lesulted in the Paris 
tribunal regulations, the important provisions of which prohibited 
citizens and subjects of the Unitecl States and of Great Britain 
(1) from Inuitmg seals at any time within a zone of 60 miles around 
the Pribilof Islands, and (2) from huntmg seals from May 1 to July 31 
in that part of the Pacific Ocean, inclusive of Bermg Sea, north of 
35° north latitude and east of 180° of longitude. These regulations 



14 THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 

went into effect in 1893. On December 29, 1897, an act of Congress 
was approved which made it unlawful for any citizen of the United 
States to hunt seals anywhere in the north Pacific Ocean, including 
Bering Sea, north of the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude. 

The Paris tribunal regulations proved very ineffective, in that 
they did not proliibit sealing in those ])ortions of Bering Sea fre- 
quented by the female seals when they make their periodical trips 
from the seal islands to their feeding grounds. Furthermore, 
although the law of December 29, 1897, eliminated citizens of the 
United States from the ranks of the pelagic sealers, and although the 
Paris tribunal regulations placed some restrictions on the pelagic 
sealers of British Columbia, there was nothing to prevent citizens of 
other nations from engaging in pelagic sealing. It was not long 
until the Japanese became aware of this fact and alive to their oppor- 
tunities, and there was soon developed a lar^e Japanese sealing fleet. 
As the Japanese were not bound b^^ the Paris tribunal regulations it 
was perfectly lawfrd for them to kill seals anywhere on the high seas 
outside of the 3-mile limit. Ihey therefore carried their sealing 
operations right up to the territorial waters of the Pribilof Islands. 
Ihere the sealing schooners would form a cordon around and as close 
to the islands as possible, covermg particularly the routes followed 
by the female seals when going to or returning from their feedmg 
grounds. The result was inevitable; the herd became so reduced 
that its commercial extinction was tlu'eatoned. 

Fortunately, in the summer of 1911, negotiations were entered 
into by the United States, Great Britain, Japan, and Russia, which 
resulted in the convention of July 7, 1911, which it is hoped and 
believed will put an entire stop to pelagic sealing. 

The foregoing summary is made a part of this report in order that 
a clear understanding may be had of the conditions obtaining at 
the time when House resolution 73 was introduced. 

Under the terms of the resolution it was proper for the committee 
to carry its inquiries back to January 1, 1904. The charges all relate 
to the admmistration of the fur-seal service by the Department of 
Commerce and Labor and by the Bureau of Fisheries of that depart- 
ment. The records show that the fur-seal service was administered 
directly by the Department of Commerce and Labor from July 1, 
1903, to December 28, 1908, and that it has been handled by the 
Bureau of Fisheries, under the general supervision of the Secretary 
of Commerce and Labor, since December 28, 1908. This statement 
regarding dates is given in order that responsibility may be definitely 
fixed. 

Ihe charges may now be considered. 

First. The charge that large numbers of yearling male seals have 
been killed on the islands contrary to law and the regulations: 

An examination of the law shows that the act approved July 1, 
1870, made it unlawful to kill any seal less than 1 year old, except 
such young seals as may be necessary for natives' food. This pro- 
vidm remained in the law until superseded by the act approved 
April 21, 1910. 

The instructions issued to the agent in charge from 1904 to 1911, 
both inclusive, in so far as they bear upon this question, were as 
follows; In 1904, no seal that had reached the age of 4 years (i. e., 
had attained its fifth summer) nor any seal under 2 years of age (i. e., 



THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 15 

that luid not attained its third summer) nor any seal whose skin 
\veio;hed less than 54 pounds should be killed; and the killino; of 
pups (i. e., seals that have not attained their second.summer). even 
for food or any other purpose, was prohibited. 

In 1905 the instructions were identical witi- those of 1904. 

In 1906 the instructions were identical with these of 1904 and 
1905, except that the skin-weight limits were fixed at 5 pounds 
minimum and 8J pounds maximum. 

In 1907, 190S, and 1909 the instructions were identical w^ith those 
of 1906. 

In 1910 and 1911 the instructions were the same as in the pre- 
ceding four years, except that no age limits were specified, the thought 
being that the w^eight limits of 5 and 8+ pounds sufficiently defined 
the kiUable seals and fully restricted the killing to 2-year-old and 
3-year-old males. 
. It thus appears that although the law permitted the killing of 
yearhng males (i. e., males that have attained their second summer), 
the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, in each year fiter the fur- 
seal service was placed in that department, issued instructions 
intended to prevent the killing of yearhng seals; and although it 
was perfectly lawful to kill pups for food (i. e., seals that have not 
attained their second summer), nevertheless the Secretary uni- 
formly issued directions that such young seals should not be killed 
under any circumstances. 

Therefore, if at any time in the years 1904 to 1911, both inclusive, 
the agents knowingly killed or permitted to be killed any male seal 
under 2 years of age (i. e., which had not attained its third summer), 
they were guilty of violating the law or the instructions of the depart- 
ment, which, of course, had the effect of law. 

In support of the charge that underaged seals have been killed ref- 
erence was made to the London sales sheets of C. M. Lampson & Co. 
It was claimed that these sheets presented classifications as to ages, 
weights, and measurements of sealskins which woidd show that large 
numbers of skins were undersize and undei weight and must have been 
taken from seals 1 year old or under. Specific reference was made to 
the sales sheets for December 16, 1904, December 15, 1905, and 
December 14, 1906. These sheets as 'presented to the committee show 
(1) the lots into wdiich the skins are assorted; (2) the price; (3) the 
number of skins in each lot; (4) the category in wiiich the skins of 
each lot are placed, as "middlings," "smalls," "middlings and 
smaUs," etc.; (5) the age; and (6) the weight. (See pp. 45 to 63 of 
hearings before the Committee on Conservation of National Resources, 
United States Senate, on the bill S. 9959, to amend an act entitled 
"An act to protect the seal fisheries of Alaska, and for other pur- 
poses," approved Apr. 21, 1910.) An inspection of original copies of 
the sales sheets for those years discloses the fact that the copies as 
presented to the committee and as printed in the Dixon hearings are 
not true copies, but dift'er materially from the official sales sheets. 
True copies of the sales sheets for the years 1904 to 1906 may be found 
on pages 385-397 of the hearings of this committee. 

An examination of these original sheets shows that they make no 
reference either to ages or weights. The data regarding ages and 
weights contained in the tables as submitted by the person making 
the charges are therefore additions to the original tables and merely 



16 THE PUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 

represent inteipretations of those tables. Whether those mterpreta- 
tions and deductions are justified may well be {questioned; but there 
can be no question as to the impropriety of their being included and 
submitted to the committee as a part of the original sales sheets. 

The evi(hmce obtaiaod })y the committee shows that it is not the 
custom of C. M. Lampson & (Jo. to weigh or measure the sealskms; 
they classify them only in a general way as to size, and they some- 
times weigh them in lots of 50 or more skins each; but they never 
make any statements on their sales slieets as to tho ages or weights 
of the sldns. 

The evidence submitted to the committee shows that it has been 
the practice of the seal agents to weigh each skin, while green or 
unsalted, just as taken frcm the seal. The printed reports of the 
agent, together with his swcrn testimony, shew that the weights of 
the sldns each year fell withm the limits fixed by the regulations, 
namely, a minimum cf 5^ pounds in 1904 and 1905, and a minimum 
of 5 pounds and a maximum of 8 J poinids thereafter. We may con- 
sider, for' illustration, the take of skins in 1910, about which there 
has been dispute: The agent weigheel a total of 13,583 skins, of 
which 90 weigheel less than the legal weight cf 5 pounds. C. M. 
Lampson & Co. weighed the same let cf sldi^is, after they had been in 
salt several weeks, anel found among them 92 skins that weighed 
slightly less than the legal weight of 5 pounds each. (See hearings, 
pp. 130 and 131.) The salt weights us certifieel by C. M. Lampson 
& Co. are in almost perfect agreement with the island green weights 
as c'^'tifi'^el by the Government agents. 

But the claim was made that although the Lonelon weights on 
their face agree with the island weights, they elo so because the salt 
weights are considerably heavier than the green weights, that the 
salting process adds from one-half pounel to 2 pounds to the green 
weight; in other words, the salted skins which weighed 6 pounds and 
under (of which there were 7,744, or 8,004, according to the charges 
(see these hearings, pp. 131 and 132), could not have weigheel as much 
as 5 pounds green, and therefore the islanel green weights were in 
reality consideraldy less than the weights reported by the agent. 

This matter seems, therefore, to hinge upon the question as to the 
effect which salting has upon the weight of the skin. Does the salt- 
ing increase or decrease the weight of a skin? 

Fortunately, several experiments have been made for the purpose 
of determining the fact in this matter. The results of each and all 
of these experiments are the sarne, namely, the salting process 
slightly decreases the w^eight of the skin. (See these hearings, pp. 
416, 546-503, 564, 974-977.) The amount of decrease seems to vary 
with the amount of blubber left on the skin, the greater the amount 
of blubber the greater the decrease as a result of salting. (See these 
hearings, p. 557.) It should be stated that the testimony of taxi- 
dermists and others accustomed to handling skins of animals is in 
agreement with the results obtained b}^ the experiments presented 
to the committee. (See these hearings, p. 560.) 

We are, therefore, of the opinion that no trustworthy evidence has 
been sul)mitteel to substantiate the charge that undersizeei or under- 
aged seals have been killed in any consielerable numbers. The fact 
that in a total of 13,583 skins taken in 1910, only 90 were under the 
legal weight speaks well for the care of the agent anel the excellent 



THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 17 

judgment of the native killers in estimating the weights of skins 
while yet on the animals' backs. 

Second. The charge that large numbers of females have been killed 
o]i the islands: The law of July 1, 1870, expressly prohibits the killing 
of female seals, and that provision of law was in force during the enthe 
period of the lease of tlie North American Commercial Co. (1^0- 
1910). It is a provision of the law of April 21, 1910, and the instruc- 
tions issued annually to the agent in immediate charge of the seal 
islands have always expressly stated that only male seals are to be 
killed. Therefore, if female seals have been intentionally killed on 
the islands, such killing was plahily in violation both of the law and 
the regulations. 

The evidence presented in support of the charge that female seals 
have been killed is as follows: 

(a) On August 4, 1903, a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on 
Territories visited St. Paul Island, and wliile witnessing a killing one 
of the Senators found three female seals among those which had been 
knocked down by the clubbers. The agent's explanation of this 
occurrence is that the drive was made August 4, four days after the 
close of the killing season and after the harems had broken up and 
the female seals liad mixed up, as is their habit at that season, with 
the bachelor seals; that the clubbers were more or less excited on 
account of the presence of so large a number (some 25 or 30) of 
strangers on the island; and that tlic knocking down of two or three 
females was an accident due entirely to the unusual conditions then 
obtaining. 

We accept this view. We do not believe that the killing of these 
females was intentional or that it would have occurred if the drive 
had been made in the regular killing season. (See these hearings, 
p. 377.) 

(b) It is claimed that if many thousands of seals mider 1 year old 
have been killed, as has been charged, and as it is difficult to dis- 
tinguish the sexes of the younger classes of seals, it necessarily follows 
that a large proportion of the young seals killed must have been 
females. 

The truth of this charge is contingent upon the truth of the first 
charge, namely, that large numbers of young seals, 1 year old or 
younger, have been killed. 

The evidence submitted is entirely inadequate to establish the 
truth of the first charge. The evidence in support of the second 
charge is equally inadequate, and we are of the opinion that female 
seals have never been intentionally killed on the islands since the fur- 
seal service was transferred to the Department of Commerce and 
Labor. 

Third. The charge that a sufficient number of male seals for breed- 
ing purposes has not been reserved may now be considered. 

No evidence of the truth of this charge was submitted to the com- 
mittee. The charge appears to be nothing more than an unsup- 
ported expression of opinion. On the other hand, it is admitted by 
all that the fur seal is a polygamous species in which one male is able 
to serve 30 to 50 or even 100 females. According to the agent's 
annual reports it is seen that special attention was given each year 
to this question. The observations showed that so far as could be 
H. Rept. 1425; 62-3 2 



18 THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 

definitely detenviined every adult cow had received proper service 
and that there has been each year a considerable number of idle bulls. 
The average harems have not been too large. 

Fourth. The charge that the male seals have been killed off so 
closely that there has not been that struggle for supremacy which is 
necessary to weed out the unfit, and that as a consequence the breed- 
ing male seals of recent years have been lacking in virility. 

Like the preceding charge this has not been supported by any 
evidence; no data, facts, or figures were submitted to the committee 
as proof of the assertion. This charge is therefore merely an expres- 
sion of opinion or theory. 

In answer to this charge attention was called to the fact that from 
October or November to May or June the seals are in the ocean per- 
forming a long journey of many thousands of miles; that the rigors, 
vicissitudes, and dangers of this winter migration are many and so 
great that the weak and unfit are weeded out and only the physically 
strong and fit survive these hardships for the six or seven years 
necessary to bring them to the breeding age. It is also claimed by 
all who have seen the fur-seal herd in recent years that there is no 
evidence of deterioration, and it is in evidence that there has been no 
complaint from London that the skins are not up to the standard. 

Fifth. The last charge is that the great decrease in the size of the 
herd has been brought about by land Idlling rather than by pelagic 
killing. 

The following facts bearing on this question appear to have been 
fully established by the evidence presented to the committee: 

1. In land killing it has been the uniform practice of the Govern- 
ment to reserve all the females and a sufficient number of males for 
breeding purposes, and to kill only such males as are not needed as 
breeders. Females are never intentionally killed under any circum- 
stances. 

2. The statistics show that the total nund^er of seals killed on the 
Pril)ilof, Commander, and Robben Islands in the years 1890 to 1897 
was 357,503 males and no females; and that the number secured 
during the same ])eriod by the pelagic sealers was 635,739, of both 
sexes. 

3. Mr. George Rice, a dyer and dresser of sealskins in London, has 
stated under oath that at least 80 per cent of the pelagic sealskins are 
skins of female seals. This means that the number of females secured 
by the pelagic sealers in the years 1890 to 1897 was 508,591, which 
exceeds the total number killed on the islands in the same period by 
more than 151,000. In other words, for every 6 males killed on land 
2 males and 9 females were killed in the water. 

4. It is also in evidence that all are agreed that of the seals mor- 
tally wounded by the pelagic sealers not all are recovered; many 
sink or escape before they can be reached, and are lost. The loss 
has been estimated as high as four out of five, and by some even 
much higher. The lowest estimate is that at least half of those killed 
are not recovered. Accepting this very conservative estimate, it is 
safe to say that the number of females killed at sea bv the ])elagic 
sealers in 1890 to 1897 was not fewer than 1,017,182. 

5. It is also admitted by all that practically every female that is 
killed at sea is heavy with young or leaves a pup to starve miserably 
on the land. This means the death in those eight years of at least 



THE FUK-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 19 

1,017,182 more seals of which 508,591 would be females. Thus the 
total loss of female seals ui the eight years must have been not fewer 
than 1,525,773, to say notliing of the"^ 763,087 males that were killed 
or died as a result of pelagic sealing. 

. 6. The growth of the hertl is directly dependent upon the number 
of breeding females in the herd. The total increase in any year can 
not exceed the number of breeding females. 

In view of this essential fact, and in the light of the figures showing 
the enormous destruction of female seals by pelagic sealing, which it 
is believed are conservative and trustworthy, we are convinced that 
the sole important cause of the decrease of the fur-seal herd (hiring 
the last decade has been pelagic sealing, and that land killing as 
practiced on the Pribilof Islands during that time has had nothing 
to do Avith the diminution of the herd. 

After a careful examination and consideration of aU the evidence, 
we find that the administration of the fur-seal service by the Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor and by the Bureau of Fisheries of that 
department has been in accordance with the law; that the regula- 
tions issued from time to time by the department and the instructions 
issued to the agents have been properly observed; that the fur-seal 
herd has been handled intelligently; and that the charges have not 
been sustained. 

Bird McGuire. 

Martin B. Madden. 

Chas. E. Patton. 

o 



••AT. JAN. 21, I80B 



